Shining under pressure
SoccerDawgs capture program’s 5th state title with dramatic ‘pks’ win versus 2-time defending champs
Following a tense “penalty kick” shootout, which the Bearden SoccerDawgs won 4-3 in the Class AAA state championship match, players, coaches and other program officials — notably Jack Tate (on gound, center), retiring BHS teacher and longtime program supporter/statistician and former baseball coach — join the celebration as Bearden dethroned Station Camp, two-time defending champs, in dramatic fashion Friday evening, May 24, at Richard Seigel Soccer Coplex in Murfreesboro.
But when necessary, Bearden High School’s boys soccer team is prepared.
“We practice penalty kicks every day. We practice them so much that our spot on the field is destroyed,” senior forward Caleb Wilkins said after the Bulldogs needed a penalty kicks shootout to win the 2019 Class AAA state championship match over Station Camp Friday, May 24, at Richard Siegel Soccer Complex.
After 110 minutes, Bearden and the two-time defending champion Bison were locked in a 1-1 tie, sending things to a shootout where the Bulldogs won 4-3.
“Going to penalty kicks is not a fair way to decide a game like this,” said BHS head coach Ryan Radcliffe, who won his second state title as a coach. “But before the shootout, I just told the guys, win or lose, that I loved them.
“But I knew that if we went to a shootout, that we had a chance. We had a chance because this team has a lot of heart,” he added. “These guys have had big hearts all year. That showed all week. This isn’t the most talented team out there. But it has heart and that’s what it takes to win these things.
“I hate PK shootouts. You just have to pray a lot. You have to give a little credit to the Man Upstairs for this one. We’re happy, but you really have to feel for them. This game had two good soccer teams laying it on the line.”
Bearden (20-3-1) and Station Camp (17-2-5) slugged through an even match, with the Bulldogs taking a 1-0 lead in the 34th minute on a goal by Wilkins.
The Bison, which ousted BHS in the Class AAA semifinals last season, tallied the equalizer when Josh Street scored in the 65th minute.
Both sides had chances in the first 20-minute overtime session and again in the 10-minute sudden death frames, but neither converted.
In the shootout, the Bison shot first and Cade MacLean scored. Wilkins answered for the SoccerDawgs before Bearden goalkeeper Holden Giesecke stopped Spencer Miller.
“I knew I was going to make a save,” Giesecke said. “My team, they’ve been working their (butts) off for me. So this was my turn.”
Bearden had a perfect run, scoring four times to claim the title — also getting markers from Collin Lewis, Finn Harris and the title clincher from Carter Turner.
The Bison missed a chance to extend things when Tyler Jessen hit the crossbar — and the Bearden faithful celebrated wildly.
Lewis, a senior, had a chance to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead, but hit the crossbar with a penalty kick in the 53rd minute. “Honestly, PKs are by far my least favorite part about soccer. Anything can happen,” he said. “PKs were not nice to me over the last couple of days.
“But it ended on a good note.”
